Carter carried Massachusetts with 56.11% of the vote to Ford's 40.44%, a 15.67% margin of victory. In a distant third was Independent candidate Eugene McCarthy, a former Democratic Senator from Minnesota known for his anti-war activism, who took 2.58%.
As Carter narrowly defeated Ford nationally to win the presidency, Massachusetts weighed in as 13% more Democratic than the national average in the 1976 election. Massachusetts had been a Democratic-leaning state since 1928, and a Democratic stronghold since 1960, so Carter's win was not unexpected. In 1972, Massachusetts was the only state in the nation to vote for Democrat George McGovern over Republican Richard Nixon in the latter's 49-state landslide. McGovern had carried Massachusetts 54–45, despite losing every other state in the midst of a massive Republican landslide.
Ford for his part performed relatively strongly in the state as a moderate Northern Republican, holding at just over 40% of the vote, while Carter gained only slightly over McGovern- even though Carter was winning nationally while McGovern was losing in a landslide. The state's capital and largest city, Boston, would be one of the few regions in the country where McGovern would actually perform more strongly than Carter in absolute terms. Suffolk County, where Boston is located, had voted for George McGovern in 1972 by a landslide of 66% versus Richard Nixon's 33%, but in 1976, Carter would only win the county with 61% versus Gerald Ford's 35%. Nevertheless, Dukes County, home to Martha's Vineyard, cast only its second-ever Democratic presidential vote, after 1964. This similarly occurred in Franklin County, and Plymouth cast only its third-ever Democratic victory. This is also the state with the most electoral votes that was decided by double digits.
In the 1960s, for three elections straight beginning with John F. Kennedy in 1960, Democrats had won landslides of over 60% of the vote, with Republicans failing to break 40%. Even in the GOP landslide of 1972, Massachusetts had clocked in as a whopping 32% more Democratic than the nation. Thus overall the results of 1976 indicated a slight Republican rebound in the state that would continue into the 1980s. As of 2023, this is the last time that the towns of Chilmark and Conway voted Republican.
^REPORT NUMBER P20-322, Voting and Registration in the Election of November 1976, table 5
^"1976 Presidential General Election Results - Massachusetts". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
April 26, 2024
1976, united, states, presidential, election, massachusetts, main, article, 1976, united, states, presidential, election, took, place, november, 1976, part, 1976, united, states, presidential, election, which, held, throughout, states, voters, chose, represent. Main article 1976 United States presidential election The 1976 United States presidential election in Massachusetts took place on November 2 1976 as part of the 1976 United States presidential election which was held throughout all 50 states and D C Voters chose 14 representatives or electors to the Electoral College who voted for president and vice president 1976 United States presidential election in Massachusetts 1972 November 2 1976 1980 Turnout68 9 1 0 2 pp Nominee Jimmy Carter Gerald Ford Party Democratic Republican Home state Georgia Michigan Running mate Walter Mondale Bob Dole Electoral vote 14 0 Popular vote 1 429 475 1 030 276 Percentage 56 11 40 44 County ResultsMunicipality ResultsCarter 40 50 50 60 60 70 70 80 80 90 Ford 40 50 50 60 60 70 70 80 President before election Gerald Ford Republican Elected President Jimmy Carter Democratic Massachusetts voted for the Democratic nominee Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter over incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford of Michigan Carter s running mate was Senator Walter Mondale of Minnesota while Ford ran with Senator Bob Dole of Kansas Carter carried Massachusetts with 56 11 of the vote to Ford s 40 44 a 15 67 margin of victory In a distant third was Independent candidate Eugene McCarthy a former Democratic Senator from Minnesota known for his anti war activism who took 2 58 As Carter narrowly defeated Ford nationally to win the presidency Massachusetts weighed in as 13 more Democratic than the national average in the 1976 election Massachusetts had been a Democratic leaning state since 1928 and a Democratic stronghold since 1960 so Carter s win was not unexpected In 1972 Massachusetts was the only state in the nation to vote for Democrat George McGovern over Republican Richard Nixon in the latter s 49 state landslide McGovern had carried Massachusetts 54 45 despite losing every other state in the midst of a massive Republican landslide Ford for his part performed relatively strongly in the state as a moderate Northern Republican holding at just over 40 of the vote while Carter gained only slightly over McGovern even though Carter was winning nationally while McGovern was losing in a landslide The state s capital and largest city Boston would be one of the few regions in the country where McGovern would actually perform more strongly than Carter in absolute terms Suffolk County where Boston is located had voted for George McGovern in 1972 by a landslide of 66 versus Richard Nixon s 33 but in 1976 Carter would only win the county with 61 versus Gerald Ford s 35 Nevertheless Dukes County home to Martha s Vineyard cast only its second ever Democratic presidential vote after 1964 This similarly occurred in Franklin County and Plymouth cast only its third ever Democratic victory This is also the state with the most electoral votes that was decided by double digits In the 1960s for three elections straight beginning with John F Kennedy in 1960 Democrats had won landslides of over 60 of the vote with Republicans failing to break 40 Even in the GOP landslide of 1972 Massachusetts had clocked in as a whopping 32 more Democratic than the nation Thus overall the results of 1976 indicated a slight Republican rebound in the state that would continue into the 1980s As of 2023 this is the last time that the towns of Chilmark and Conway voted Republican Contents 1 Results 1 1 Results by county 1 1 1 Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic 2 See also 3 ReferencesResults edit1976 United States presidential election in Massachusetts 2 Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes Democratic Jimmy Carter 1 429 475 56 11 14 Republican Gerald Ford incumbent 1 030 276 40 44 0 Independent Eugene McCarthy 65 637 2 58 0 Socialist Workers Peter Camejo 8 138 0 32 0 American Thomas J Anderson 7 555 0 30 0 U S Labor Lyndon LaRouche 4 922 0 19 0 Write ins Write ins 1 554 0 06 0 Totals 2 547 557 100 00 14 Voter Turnout Voting age Registered 62 81 Results by county edit County Jimmy CarterDemocratic Gerald FordRepublican Various candidatesOther parties Margin Total votes cast Barnstable 31 568 43 00 39 295 53 52 2 554 3 48 7 727 10 52 73 417 Berkshire 39 337 57 12 27 462 39 87 2 072 3 01 11 875 17 25 68 871 Bristol 116 318 60 66 69 957 36 48 5 494 2 86 46 361 24 18 191 769 Dukes 2 513 48 94 2 365 46 06 257 5 00 148 2 88 5 135 Essex 165 710 54 97 125 538 41 65 10 196 3 38 40 172 13 32 301 444 Franklin 14 985 48 06 14 837 47 58 1 359 4 36 148 0 48 31 181 Hampden 110 028 59 38 70 008 37 78 5 254 2 84 40 020 21 60 185 298 Hampshire 34 947 58 17 22 219 36 99 2 909 4 84 12 728 21 18 60 075 Middlesex 359 919 55 77 260 044 40 29 25 419 3 94 99 875 15 48 645 382 Nantucket 1 115 42 46 1 399 53 27 112 4 27 284 10 81 2 626 Norfolk 155 342 51 33 136 628 45 15 10 646 3 52 18 714 6 18 302 616 Plymouth 83 663 50 88 74 684 45 42 6 086 3 70 8 979 5 46 164 433 Suffolk 142 010 61 11 80 623 34 70 9 739 4 19 61 387 26 41 232 372 Worcester 172 320 60 41 105 217 36 89 7 707 2 70 67 103 23 52 285 244 Totals 1 429 475 56 11 1 030 276 40 44 87 806 3 45 399 199 15 67 2 547 558 Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic edit Dukes Franklin PlymouthSee also editUnited States presidential elections in MassachusettsReferences edit REPORT NUMBER P20 322 Voting and Registration in the Election of November 1976 table 5 1976 Presidential General Election Results Massachusetts Dave Leip s Atlas of U S Presidential Elections Retrieved February 7 2013 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1976 United States presidential election in Massachusetts amp oldid 1218665418, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
